PACIFIC FLYWAY:
With rain still falling as far north as Vancouver, its tough prospecting for ducks and geese in the Pacific Northwest as northern birds remain north. Washington hunters report a fair increase of duck and goose numbers but only a nominal increase in hunter success in coastal regions. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports few new arrivals in the state with the bulk of birds resting safely on private lands. Hunter success is fair north of Klamath District — where birds continue to bypass the refuge into Northern California. Ducks and geese are widely dispersed through northern and central California. No-burn restrictions continue to complicate California Waterfowling conditions with ample forage and safe haven for migrating birds. Recent weather systems have increased bird harvests over previous weeks with teal hunting good to excellent in the south. Duck and goose numbers remain strong in open water areas of Idaho and Utah. Hunter success is good to excellent in areas holding birds. In Arizona and Nevada, hunting is slow.
CENTRAL FLYWAY
In the Central Flyway, ducks and geese are, as everywhere else, scattered. Nebraska continues to host thousands of waterfowl in areas with open water — as does Wyoming and Montana\’s open river systems. Hunter success is fair to poor in these areas overall but scouting can provide shoots of a lifetime on these concentrated birds. In Colorado, some reservoirs open at least 10-20% and still holding concentrated rafts of ducks, snow and Canada geese. Hunter success is fair and limited to those areas. Waterfowl numbers are fair to good throughout most of open water areas in Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Hunting in central and southern Texas is fair though waterfowl numbers have been increasing. Again, birds are widespread and not moving out of safe havens. New Mexico remains the hot spot in the flyway with lots of action on mallards, teal, pintial and wigeon.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY:
With river systems to the north still open, waterfowl are still dispersed throughout the north central portion of the flyway. Goose hunting remains fair in the remaining days of the Illinois goose seasons. Duck numbers remain good to fair in a fast freezing Missouri with open water and river systems still holding formidable numbers of waterfowl. Duck and goose numbers are strong in Indiana and Ohio hunters with hunter success the best so far this season. Goose hunting is good in Kentucky with ducks better than the previous week but still only fair in most areas. Ducks are widely dispersed in Arkansas and only moving on high pressured hunting days in localized areas with action expected to increase as floodwaters recede. Hunting remains fair to poor in most of Louisiana and Mississippi (on a relative scale) with unconfirmed reports of wintering rafts of ducks 4-5 miles of shore. Mississippi Wildlife and fisheries reports that despite localized flooding waterfowl remain concentrated in large numbers on small acerage.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY: Migration Alert:
With a winter storm systems moving though the southeast and north towards Virginia, the best migratory activity of the Atlantic fly should occur over the next 24 – 48 hours. With southerly winds driving the current storm the bulk of migratory activity will occur on the backside of the current system. The following is a brief summary of the previous week\’s news as we await new developments: Mallard, black duck, diver, goose and brant numbers were strong in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Delaware and New Hampshire with fast freezes expected. Waterfowl numbers in New Jersey, Maryland and the Virginias and has been good to excellent with black ducks, mallards, divers and costal brant. Wooduck numbers are fair to good in the Carolinas with lots of gray ducks and teal. In Georgia and Florida hunting is slow, but expected to change dramatically over the next few days.
